LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. WELL, TAKE A LOOK AT THIS HUGE FIRE, WE FIRST BROUGHT IT TO YOU WHEN IT WAS BREAKING LIVE AT 5:00. TONIGHT WE LEARNED THE BLAZE WAS DOUBLE TROUBLE POSITIVE THE FIREFIGHTERS. BECAUSE NOT ONLY DID THEY HAVE THE FLAMES TO BATTLE. BUT THEY WERE ALSO DEALING WITH RADIO COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS. LOCAL 4'S WILL JONES IS LIVE WITH THE STORY TONIGHT. ARE THE RADIOS WORKING NOW WILL? THANKFULLY RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM IS BACK WORKING. FIREFIGHTERS RIGHT NOW ARE HITTING HOT SPOTS. THEY WILL BE HERE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. THIS WAS NOT THE KIND OF FIBER YOU WANT TO HAVE WHEN YOUR MAIN COMMUNICATION SYSTEM IS DOWN. FORCES -- SOURCES TELLING ME THAT THEY MAY HAVE OVER RESPONDED TO THE FIRE BECAUSE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH THE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM. THEY WANTED TO HAVE BACK UP HERE IN CASE SOMETHING WENT WRONG. THIS WAS THE VIEW FROM SKY, FOR OF PALLETS IN THIS COMMERCIAL YARD ON FIRE. CLOUD OF SMOKE SEEN FOR MILES AWAY ON THE WESTSIDE. WOODS RODE THE BIKE OVER FOR A CLOSE UP LOOK. IT IS AMAZING MAN, HOW THIS STUFF IS BURNING. IT IS CRAZY. NEARLY 75 FIREFIGHTERS RESPONDED TO THE FIRE. FIRE COMMISSIONER CAME OUT TO ASSESS THE SITUATION. IT IS A TYPE OF FIRE THAT FIREFIGHTERS FEAR ON A DAY WHEN RADIO COMMUNICATION IS UNRELIABLE. IT IS CHALLENGING, YES, AND CHALLENGING WORK ENVIRONMENT. AROUND 2 A.M. RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR POLICE, EMS AND FIREFIGHTERS WENT OUT. LEAVING FIREFIGHTERS AND OTHER FIRST RESPONDERS TO RELY ON THEIR CELL PHONES TO CONTACT DISPATCHERS OUT ON SCENE. MAKING THE JOBS MORE DANGEROUS. OUR PHONES ARE WORKING IN THE CORRIDORS, SO COMPANIES CAN GET DISPATCHED. ONCE ON THE SCENE THEY CAN USE CELL PHONES, CALL BACK TO CENTRAL OFFICE. IF THEY NEED ADDITIONAL HELP OR RESOURCES. SO WE HAVE A HANDLE ON THE PROBLEM AT THIS POINT. WITH NORMAL FIRE CHANNELS DOWN, THEY RELY ON AN EVENT CHANNEL TO COMMUNICATE WITH DISPATCHERS ON THIS LARGE FIRE. NOT ONE OF THE NORMAL CHANNELS WE USE. BUT WE ARE USING A CHANNEL THAT IS AVAILABLE TO US. SOURCES TELL ME SOME FIREFIGHTERS UPSET ABOUT USING THEIR PERSONAL CELL PHONES OUT ON FIRE SCENES, BECAUSE IF SOMEONE HAS A FAILURE MAINTAINING, THEY PAY FOR THOSE CELL PHONES, OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET. WE'RE LIVE ON THE CITY'S WESTSIDE. WILL JONES. LOCAL 4. WE ARE TOLD THE ARSON

DETROIT -

The cloud of smoke could be seen from miles away on Detroit's west side as nearly 70 firefighters responded to a four-alarm fire Tuesday in a commercial yard at Lyndon and Meyers.

Derrick Woods rode his bike over for an up-close look.

"It is just amazing, man, how this stuff just be burning like this. It's just crazy," Woods said.

Images: Fire at Detroit commercial yard

Smoke can be seen billowing for miles from a fire on Detroit's west side.

About 2 a.m. Tuesday the radio communication system for Detroit police, EMS and firefighters went down. That left firefighters and other first responders to rely on their cellphones to contact dispatchers while they were out on the job. That made the job more dangerous.

"Our phones are working in the quarters so companies are able to get dispatch. Once they get on the scene they are able to use their cellphones to call back to central office if they need additional help or resources," said Dougherty.

With their normal fire channels down, firefighters relied on what they call an event channel to communicate with dispatchers on this large fire.

"It's not one of our normal channels that we use but we are using a channel that is available to us," said Dougherty.

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